Human Rights and Constitutional Law: Balancing Security and Freedom

Abstract

In 2024, the global struggle to balance national security imperatives with the
protection of individual freedoms has intensified, reflecting a broader constitutional
challenge facing both democratic and authoritarian regimes. From expanded digital
surveillance frameworks in the United States under a renewed Section 702 FISA
debate, to Nigeria’s controversial Anti-Terrorism Amendment Bill, and the European
Union’s contentious AI Security Directive, states have increasingly invoked national
security to justify limitations on civil liberties. While constitutional law traditionally
provides mechanisms such as judicial review, proportionality tests, and rights-based
derogation clauses to check executive overreach, recent developments have exposed
the fragility of these safeguards under political and technological pressures.
This article examines how constitutional frameworks across jurisdictions have been
tested in 2024, particularly in the face of post-pandemic governance shifts, civic
unrest, and emergent cyber threats. Drawing on comparative case studies from
the United States, Nigeria, India, and the European Union, it critically explores how
national security measures often justified by governments as necessary for stability
can lead to a gradual erosion of core democratic principles such as freedom of
expression, privacy, and due process. Furthermore, it evaluates the role of civil society,
media, and international human rights watchdogs in advocating for transparency
and accountability.
The article concludes by emphasizing the need for recalibrated constitutional
safeguards that reflect 21st-century security realities without undermining
fundamental rights. It calls for policy reforms such as time-bound emergency powers,
strengthened legislative oversight, and the institutionalization of digital rights
protections. As 2024 draws to a close, the question remains urgent: how can states
secure their populations without sacrificing the very liberties they seek to defend?